e ops room, Mandi. Let Cade stay there and get some sleep; you're going
to have to make a trip to Washington tonight."
Nodding as if John could see her, Mandi said, "Tell me about it when I get
there. I'm on my way. Bye," and hung up the phone as she turned to Cade.
"I heard," he said, tossing the towel over a chair and reaching for her,
"And I've seen how fast you move, so how about a kiss for the road, lady?"
Mandi moved into his arms for a long, firm kiss, then she stepped back and
said, "If I can, I'll be back tonight."
"Most excellent, ma'am. I'd like to wake up next to you."
Mandi smiled in her naked splendor and became a blur that moved around the
room for a moment, then solidified back into Mandi a few inches from his face.
She smilingly kissed him again, then again blurred as she sped out of the room.
"Damn," muttered Cade as he parked his butt against the desk and picked up
Mandi's towel. It still carried the scent of her; the wildflowers and honey
scent. He held the towel to his face and breathed deeply of her for a few
moments, then hung both towels on the rack in the bathroom and climbed into bed.
Sleep was evasive for a while as he remembered various aspects of their
shower together, but eventually it found him.

When he woke a little after nine, he was alone in the bed. After ablutions
and making a cup of instant coffee, Cade called the ops room to see if Mandi was
due back anytime soon. They either didn't know or couldn't say. He asked to be
notified when she returned.
Cade tore the relevant pages out of his convention schedule and circled
those events he'd attend. He then wrote, 'I'll be at one of these' on hotel
stationery, used his knife to slice a line in the paper and inserted the
rolled-up schedule pages in the slot, and finished his coffee before leaving to
find some breakfast.
At the front desk, he told the clerk to allow Mandi access to his room, then
crossed the lobby to the restaurant. The smell of food hit him hard for some
reason. Cade chose from the menu cautiously, not wanting to order more than he
could eat, but he nonetheless ended up ordering a whole second breakfast platter
when the first one didn't seem to do the job.
As he was finishing up the second platter, Cade's cell phone buzzed and he
answered it with, "Cade here."
"Hey, ol' buddy," said Frank Stearns, "I hear you had some special female
company last night. I